je  triumphant 

nd  Other  7?oems 


Charles 


MI)TIH-:H. 


MOTHER. 
x 

f\UEEN  of  the  qucenliest,  lover  of  lovers, 

Gentle  and  kind  of  life's  kindliest  ones, 
Faithful,  devoted,  the  mother  of  mothers, 

All  of  the  world  were  thy  daughters  and  sons. 

Beauty  so  winsome  was  never  beholden 
Impictured  on  continent,  ocean  or  isle 

As    that    which,    love-glimmering,  seemed  to  un 
fold  in 
The  exquisite,  angelic  light  of  thy  smile. 

Courage?     There  seemingly  never  existed 
Spirit  more  dauntless,  heroic  and  brave. 

Pain  thou  bore  valiantly,  life  thou  insisted 
Was  mightier  far  than  the  might  of  the  grave. 

Mother,  our  mother,  we  never  can  lose  thee, 
Death  cannot  claim  such  a  spirit  as  thine 

Sainted  by  sinners,  we  know  God  approves  thee 
For  thou  wert  immortal  and  thou  wert  divine. 


LOVINGLY   DEDICATED 

TO   THE 

MEMORY   OF    MY    MOTHER 

WHOSE   LIFE   WAS   A   DIVINE   POEM   AND 

WHOSE    PASSING   TRIUMPHANT 

AND   GLORIOUS 


THE  LIFE 
TRIUMPHANT 


AND 


OTHER  POEMS 


BY 

CHARLES  RUSSELL  WAKELEY 


/=><> 


Z.   6" 


COPYRIGHT    1911 

BY 
CHARLES    R.    WAKELEY 


CONTENTS. 

JBT 

PAGE 

The    Life    Triumphant 9 

My   Life    12 

Adventure    14 

Manhood    16 

To  L.  W.  G 18 

Tomorrow 19 

The  Universal  Cry 20 

Unworthy    22 

Answered     23 

A  Retrospect   26 

Life's  Unfoldment 30 

The  Passing  of  the  Year 32 

Ultima  Thule   33 

Death  of  Moses 35 

My  Enemy   38 

Opulence     40 

Thanksgiving   42 

Eventide    44 

Our  Baby    46 

Friends   47 

A  Christmas  Greeting 49 

The   Enchantress    50 

Gethsemane    51 

The  Initiated   32 

Limitation .  54 


PAGE 

Love 56 

The  Vikings   57 

The  Processional  59 

Development     62 

Woman     64 

A  Face  66 

The   Sower    68 

To  a  Friend 70 

Evolution 71 

To  the  Infinite 74 

Night 75 

Omnia    Sunt    Sancta 77 

The  Revelation   79 

Sunrise     80 

A  Pentwater  Sunset 81 

Walt  Whitman   83 

Necessity  85 

Entangled    87 

With  Thy  Hand  in  My  Own 89 

Unseen  Forces   90 

The   Knighted    92 

Emancipated     93 

Death  and  Life 95 

Why  We  Believe  in  Equal  Suffrage 96 

The  Gambler    98 

The    Conflict    100 

Old   Age    102 

When  the  Night  Closes  In 103 


THE  LIFE  TRIUMPHANT 

ty 

AM  passing  through    the  country   of 


the  stricken  and  the  dying; 
I  have  seen  the  face  of  suffering,  of 
hopelessness  and  fear; 

But  I  come  to  voice  the  knowledge  that  is 
deep  and  satisfying; 

I'm  the  bearer  of  glad  tidings  of  good  com 
radeship  and  cheer. 

I  have  come  to  sound  the  music  of  the  life 

that  is  eternal; 

The  life  that   knows    no  weakness,   limi 
tations,  pain  or  loss; 
I  have  come  to  sing  the  beauty  of  the  life 

that  is  supernal; 

The  sweetness  of  earth's  bitterness,  the  glory 
of  her  cross. 


THE  LIFE  TRIUMPHANT 

I  am  a  voice  that  crieth  in  the  land  of  desola 
tion, 
Wherein   the  wails  of  broken   hearts  and 

broken  lives  are  heard ; 
But  I  cry  of  hope's  fulfillment — nathless  all  of 

time's  mutation— 

And  of  joy  unmitigated   for  the   doubting, 
the  perturbed. 

I  raise  the  song  of  triumph  when  the   foolish 

cry  disaster ; 
I  emphasize  the  victory   which   dying   man 

may  claim ; 
Some  tell  of  life  the  bond-slave,  but  I  speak  of 

life  the  master ; 

I   magnify  its   goodness  and  I  minimize  its 
blame. 

I  prophesy  the  riches  which  the  lowly  shall 

inherit ; 

The  bruised  ones,  the   bleeding  ones,   the 
burdened  ones  and  sore ; 

A  love  which  grants  abundance,  not  according 
to  man's  merit 

But  according  to  man's  cravings  and  the  ful 
ness  of  God's  store. 


10 


LIFE   TRIUMPHANT 


Then  let  the  earth  be  glad  again  and   let   the 

heart  be  brightened  ! 
Let  anxiousness  be  cast    aside,   the   spirit 

cease  to  grieve  ! 
And  let  the  feet  untiring  move  and  let  the 

load  be  lightened  ; 

Let  sorrow  in  the  heart  rejoice  and  unbelief 
believe. 

For  in  the    great  economy  of    God   there's 

nothing  wasted  ; 
The  yearnings   of  the   human  heart  were 

never  born  in  vain  ; 
There  shall    be    greater    blessings   than  this 

mortal  life  hath  tasted  ; 

Unending  benedictions  as  the  recompense 
for  pain. 

Then  let  us  welcome    cheerfully   whatever 

earth  may  proffer; 
Accept    the    cup    she    yields    us,    drinking 

deeply  of  her  wine  ; 
Believing  that  immortal  love  pervades  what- 

e'er  she  offers  ; 

That  all  of  life  at  heart  is  good,  compassion 
ate,  divine. 


11 


MY  LIFE. 


life  is  rich,  abounding,  for  the 
Ll\V/J  sources  when  it  fills 

Are  exhaustless  and  more  ancient 

than  the  everlasting  hills. 
It  feeds  in  pastures  ever  green  where  living 

waters  flow ; 
It  shelters    'neath    the    mighty    Rock  which 

naught  can  overthrow. 
It  knows  no  limitations,  human  weakness  or 

disease ; 
It  is  flooded  by  the  waters  of  immeasurable 

seas; 
It  is  the  life  unfolding  in  the  growing  plant  and 

vine; 
As  perfect  and  as  wonderful  and  even  more 

divine. 
It  cannot  be   inhibited    by  circumstance  of 

earth; 
Its  wealth  cannot  be  measured  in  the  scales  of 

human  worth ; 


12 


MY  LIFE 

Its  rise  is  in  the  ages  of  the  generations  past ; 
Its  issue   in   far  future  generations  great  and 

vast; 
Its  purposes  are  mightier  than  thought  hath 

yet  conceived ; 
Its  promises  more  wonderful  than  any  plan 

achieved ; 
It  finds  its  own  fulfillment  in  the  structure  that 

it  rears; 
Ill-fashioned  oft  by  human  hands  and  soiled 

by  human  tears. 
It  cannot  lose  itself  in  death  nor  waste  itself  in 

pain; 
But  issuing  in  fuller  life,  eternal  shall  remain. 


13 


ADVENTURE. 


ET  me  become  the  strong,  adven 

turous  one, 
Inspired  by  lofty  purpose,  knight 

ly  zeal, 

With  faith  unfeigne  d  who  would  gladly  run 
A  course  untraveled,  flinching  not  to  feel 
The  suffering,  the  pain,  the  keen  distress 
Of  wild  adventure  through  life's  wilderness 
Yet  unexplored  ;  yet  having  heart  to  trust 
That  life  at  core  is  infinitely  good 
And  wise  and  true,  beneficent  and  just, 
Though  oft  by  ignorance  misunderstood, 
Despised,  dishonored,  trodden  in  the  dust. 

What  recks  the  biting  agony,  the  toll 
That  life  exacts  of  every  pilgrim  form? 
'Twas  not  for  fulsome  pleasure  we  were  born, 
But  for  the  higher  conquests  of  the  soul. 
It  is  enough  if  we  may  eat  the  bread 
Of  fuller  wisdom,  and  be  visited 
By  holier  presences. 

14 


ADVENTURE 

Though  the  way  seem  far,  the  footing  rough, 
To  breathe  life's  fuller,  life's  diviner  air, 
To  catch  the  vision  of  some  far-off  star, 
To  feel  the  throbbing  of  some  vital  prayer — 
The  joys  no  accidents  of  time  can  mar — 
Are  surely,  surely  recompense  enough. 

Why  murmur  we  like  children,  foam  and  fret; 
Because  of  dallying  winds  of  circumstance  ? 
The  very  barriers  overcome  beget 
More  strengthened   sinews  for  the  soul's  ad 
vance  ; 
Then  on  and  on  in  greater,  vaster  courses  I'd 

pursue 

Unrecked,  unventured  fastnesses,  achieve 
Some  fresh  experience  elsewise  unguessed, 
Respect  the  old,  yet  magnify  the  new ; 
Let  not  subservience  to  the  past  deceive, 
Subvert  my  feet  from  journeying  forward,  lest 
My  course  at  last  grow  faltering  or  untrue. 
Nay,  I  would  trust  the  stiller  voice  within, 
Nor  quail  before  tradition's  august  power ; 
Stagnation's  death  would  be  life's  foulest  sin, 
And  Ease  the  beast  long  waiting  to  devour. 


15 


MANHOOD. 
m 

N  days  like  these 

When    Mammon  claims  such 

hordes  of  votaries 
And    human    powers  and  art 

are  trained  to  seize 
Material  values  as  the  highest  goal, 
It  is  refreshing  to  behold  a  man 
Seeking  to  compass  some  diviner  plan 
Placing  life's  rightful  stress  upon  the  soul. 

It  is  a  pleasure  great 

To  know  that  some  within  the  halls  of  state 
Before  a  holier  shrine  than  Mammon's  wait 
The  sacred  bidding  of  their  King's  behest ; 
Who  see  beyond  the  Present's  paltry  aims 
The  Future's  vast  far-reaching,  higher  claims, 
Perceiving  in  life's  Ultimates  life's  test. 

16 


MANHOOD 

Some  men  we  find — 

Rail-splitters  it  may  be,  who  have  divined 
Truths  undiscovered  by  the  common  mind — 
Whose  vision  and  whose  purpose  are  as  one ; 
Who,  steadfast  to  their  deeper  natures,  feel 
The  goading  impulse  of  some  high  ideal- 
Timing  their  pocket-pieces  by  the  sun. 
Such  lift  their  forms 
Like  Redwoods  in  a  common  forest, 
Mock  the  storm  which  sways  the  little  sap 
lings,  or  which  warns 
The  mariner  to  venture  not  at  sea ; 
Deep  strike  their  roots  within  this  earthly  clod, 
Kissed  are  their  foretops  by  the  winds  of  God, 
Their  lofty  spirits  mighty  are  and  free. 

I  emulate 

Not  ravenous  souls,  howe'er  by  some  called 

great 

Forsooth,  because  some  curious  fortunes  wait 
Upon  their  cunning  and  their  crafty  skill ; 
Rather,  for  me,  a  lovelier  life  I  choose — 
To  play  the  man,  though  I  may  seem  to  lose ; 
Honor  and  Faith  shall  be  my  good  friends  still. 


17 


TO    L.  W.  G. 

m 

WEET   life  departed — gentle,  pure 

and  fair, 
So   fraught  with  gracious  service 

for  mankind, 

In  lowliest  soil  how  surely  thou  wouldst  find 
Some  chance  to  plant  some  fadeless  blossom 

there 

Plucked  from  life's  mountains  in  that  purer  air 
Where  thy  discernment  beauteous  buds  di 
vined  ! 

Thou,  frail  of   body,  yet  with  heart  so  strong, 
So  wise,  courageous,  kindly,  brave  and  true, 
Who  found  life's  goodness  peering  through  its 

wrong 

And  drank  the  bitter  potion  of  life's  rue 
With  such  heroic  spirit,  yet  dids't  long 
For  human  love  which  thine  could'st  kindle 

to— 

Thou  hast  a  thousand  lovers  earth  bestrewn, 
Whose  transformed  lives  shall  be  thy  lasting 
tomb. 

18 


TO-MORROW. 

FANCY  when  time  in  the  future 

shall  weigh 
On  the  scales  of  the  ages  our  little 

today, 
And  the  centuries  view  with  unprejudiced 

ken 
Those  conditions  which   seem  to  engulf  us, 

that  then, 
Could  we  live  in   the  light  of    those    ages 

unborn, 
And,  from  knowledge  more  perfect,  our  own 

judgments  form, 

Strangely  altered,  indeed,  would  those  judg 
ments  appear 
From  the  judgments  we  frame  of  conditions 

while  here; 
And  the  deeds  we  think  great  and  those  acts 

we  deem  wise, 
Would  appear  very  foolish  and  small  in  our 

eyes; 
While  those  things  we  consider  of  childish 

estate, 
In  the  eyes  of  the  aeons  of  time  would  be 

great. 

19 


THE  UNIVERSAL  CRY. 


IVE  me  to  live  a  life  as  free 
And  wild  as  a   sportsman's  life 

would  be, 
A  life  as  pulsing,  a  life  as  full 
As  throbs  in  the  heart  of  a  mighty  bull. 

Give  me  to  live  a  life  as  strong 

As  lives  which  to  athletes  well  trained  belong ; 

A  life  of  vision,  a  life  of  power, 

With  roots  in  the  ages  and  not  the  hour. 

Give  me  to  live  the  life  which  dares 
Fashion  alone  from  its  deeds  its  prayers, 
Mighty  of  courage  to  act,  to  will, 
Fearful  that  nothing  without  can  kill. 

Give  me  to  live,  to  strive,  to  dare, 
Give  me  my  burden  of  life  to  bear, 
Give  me  to  follow  the  winding  road, 
Give  me  the  sinews  to  lift  my  load. 

20 


THE  UNIVERSAL  CRY 

Give  me  of  losses  and  give  me  of  gain, 
Give  me  the  riches  of  joy  and  pain, 
Give  me  the  life  abounding,  scorn 
For  what  is  of  fear  and  of  weakness  born. 

Give  me  to  live,  to  feel  the  fires 
Of  human  passions  and  mad  desires ; 
Give  me  the  powers  of  self-control, 
The  might  to  master  a  storm-swept  soul. 

Give  me  to  live,  I  have  no  heart 

To  play  but  a  coward's  or  a  craven's  part; 

Give  me  to  live,  from  out  this  dust 

To  wage  war  on  the  hell  of  all  self -distrust. 

Give  me  to  live  a  life  which  sees 
The  folly  of  sumptuous,  well-fed  ease ; 
Give  me  to  live,  what' ever  the  strife, 
For  life  is  goodly  and  God  is  life. 

Then  hear  me,  alone  for  this  I  cry ; 
Give  me  to  live,  and  not  to  die. 
This  is  the  gift  I  would  have  life  give, 
Give  me  to  live!    Give  me  to  live! 


21 


UNWORTHY. 


TANDING  upon  the  topmost  pin- 
')  jr\s         nacle  of  time 

\S      I  view  the  mighty  structure  Life 
hath  wrought 

Through  all  the  ages  with  untiring  thought 
And  deathless  energy  and  wise  design, 
And  am  made  conscious  that  the  mass  sublime 
Was  framed  together  at  the  frightful  cost 
Of  men  who  toiled  and  suffered  and  are  lost 
Amid  the  trackless  labyrinths  of  time ; 
And  I  who  pluck  the  fruitage  of  their  pain 
And  to  whose  lips  their  blood  is  turned  to 

wine 

Fall  on  my  knees  and  from  my  heart  exclaim 
"  I  am  unworthy  of  this  gift  of  thine ; 
I  am  unworthy"  and  my  speechless  sob 
Re-echoes  still  "Unworthy,  O  my  God! " 
22 


ANSWERED. 


SOUGHT   for  proof  of  God,   nor 

could  I  rest 
Till  I  had  found  the  object  of  my 

quest. 

I  studied  nature,  wrestled  wit  her  laws, 
To  wrench  from  her  some  knowledge  of  her 

cause. 

I  searched  through  realms  of  scientific  thought, 
To  find  disclosed  the  object  I  had  sought. 
In  earth  and  air,  in  sea  and  sky  in  vain, 
I  sought,  the  object  of  my  search  to  gain. 
In  living  creatures,  from  primordial  germ, 
To  man  the  microcosm  to  discern 
Proof  of  God's  life,  I  wrought  with  giant  will, 
Used  every  method  known  to  human  skill, 

23 


ANSWERED 

Yet  wrought  so  vainly  that  the  very  means 
I  used  to  aid  me,  only  mocked  my  dreams, 
Laughed  at  my  toil  and  effort,  scorned  the 

pride, 
Which  with  a  god  would  have  man's  life 

allied. 

The  very  Science  of  the  world,  but  smiled, 
That  man,  fool  man,  should  be  so  vain  a  child. 
Grown  old  through  many  anxious  days 
And  nights  of  earnest  effort,  over  ways 
It  seemed  must  lead  most  surely  to  the  goal, 
I  so  long  sought  with  all  my  strength  of  soul ; 
Discouraged  and  disheartened  and  forlorn, 
As  thus  I  sat,  unto  my  eyes  was  borne 
The  vision  of  an  image  wondrous  fair, 
Whose  magic  charm  no  language  may  de 
clare — 
And  thus  the    vision  spoke:     "Science   did 

•well 

To  chide  thy  folly,  which  would  have  her  tell 
Of  things  she  may  not  know,  much  less  dis 
close 
To    thee,    her    Lord,    though    willingly    she 

chose — 

The  secret  of  God's  being  rests  with  thee, 
Thy  life,  alone,  thy  life  from  doubt  canst  free. 


24 


ANSWERED 

Regard  it  well,  not  in  its  outer  form 
Of  flesh  alone,  of  which  thou  must  be  shorn, 
Nor  yet  the  wondrous  workings  of  thy  brain, 
So  quick  to  balance,  credit  or  disclaim ; 
But  in  thy  natural  instincts  to  possess 
The  good  or  ill,  the  right  or  wrong  redress. 
Who  gave  the  thoughts  of  good  or  ill  to  claim 
Ere  thy  small  tongue  could  lisping  give  them 

name? 
What  then  is  good  ?     How  knowest  thou  to 

choose 

The  right  or  wrong — the  good  or  ill  refuse  ?" 
And  as  I  listened,  conscience  loudly  spoke — 
"I  am  God's  life  in  thee,"  and  I  awoke. 


25 


A  RETROSPECT 


ROM  the  \vinding  water  courses 
where  the  tangled  grasses 
dipped, 

From  among  its  mossy  boulders 
where  my  childish  feet  have  slipped, 
From  the  sunny,  flow'ry  meadows  where  the 

berry  and  the  bee 

And  the  blossoms  with  their  fragrance  were 
companions  meet  for  me. 

From  the    long,   stone-fenced,    vine-trellised 

walls  where  nature's  fingers  played, 
To  where  the  towering  elm  tree  lifts  its  giant 

arms  of  shade, 
From  daisy  and  from  buttercup,  from  robin, 

thrush  and  wren, 
Call  voices  of  a  far-off  past  and  I  am  young 

again. 

26 


A.  RETROSPECT 

Again  the  old  familiar  lane  gives  welcome  to 
my  tread, 

The  buzzing  bees  glean  honey  from  the  lo 
custs  overhead. 

How  foolish  seems  the  strife  of  life  and  its  dis 
cordant  noise 

When  measured  by  the  priceless  wealth  of 
childhood's  early  joys ! 

Again  I  see  the  faces,  and  the  voices  now  I 
hear 

Of  those  beloved  ones  removed  whose  mem 
ories  are  so  dear ; 

They  seem  to  speak  from  out  the  past  as  oft 
they  spoke  before, 

They  speak  in  memory,  though  they  speak  by 
word  of  mouth  no  more. 

My  father  speaks  again  to  me  from  out  the 
distant  past 

Wherein  our  lives  together  in  the  stream  of 
life  were  cast, 

Again  I  catch  the  accents  of  those  early,  far- 
off  days, — 

I,  who  have  wandered  off  so  far  in  such  un 
dreamed-of  ways. 


27 


A  RETROSPECT 

My  early  friends,  my  early  hopes,  come  troop 
ing  at  my  will ; 
The  vase  is  shattered,  but  the  fragrance  of  the 

rose  lifts  still ; 
And  though  my  human  eyes  I  close,  with  a 

diviner  sight 
I  catch  the  glories  of  the  past  undarkened  by 

the  night. 
And  through   it  all,   unceasingly,   I   feel  the 

deathless  fire 
Of  love  which  reaches  outward  for  the  things 

of  its  desire ; 
And  though  all  goodness  prove  but  ill,    and 

truth  itself  a  lie, 
I  know  that  love  will  find  its  own  and  cannot, 

cannot  die. 

Speak  not  to  me  of  glory,  nor  of  honor,  nor  of 

power, 
Which  flourish  like  the  ancient  gourd  to  perish 

in  an  hour ; 
Speak  rather  of  eternal  things,  most  holy,  most 

divine, 
Ay !    Speak  of  love,  the  priceless  pearl,  which 

may  be  yours  and  mine. 


28 


A  RETROSPECT 

I  close  the  chambers  of  my  heart,  my  mem 
ories  stow  away; 

Again  I  set  myself  to  meet  the  duties  of  the 
day. 

But  in  the  hurried  work  of  life,  and  when 
the  world  seems  cold, 

I  fancy  that  I'm  richer  for  the  wealth  those 
chambers  hold. 


29 


LIFE'S  UNFOLDMENT. 


< HENCE  springs  humanity? 

Out  of  the  wild, 
Out  of  earth's  chaos  and  seem 
ing  inanity 
Springeth  life's  child. 
Out  of  earth's  blackness, 

Out  of  its  night, 
Groping  half  blindly  on 

Seeking  the  light ; 
Out  of  its  infancy 

Prattling  and  prying, 
Peevish  and  fretful, 

Struggling  and  crying ; 
Out  of  the  shadows  of  dread  superstition, 
Slaves  to  the  ghosts  of  a  long- spent  tradition, 
Creeping  and  crawling  from  grosser  conditions 
Striving  and  dying. 

30 


LIFE'S  UNFOLDMENT 

Whither  humanity  ? 

Upward  and  on, — 
Much  of  its  ignorance,  folly  and  vanity 

Soon  will  be  gone. 
Up  like  the  lily, 

Which  lifts  from  the  slime ; 
Up  like  the  grasses, 

And  up  like  the  pine ; 
Up  toward  life's  brightness; 

Patiently  plying, 
Bent  on  uprightness, 

Living  or  dying ; — 
Child  of  the  sod, — 
Draw  like  the  stream,  though  impeded,  which 

courses 
Forth  from  the   springs  of  its  own    shallow 

sources 

On  toward  the  ocean :  thus  all  nature's  forces 
Draw  man  to  God. 


31 


THE  PASSING  OF  THE  YEAR. 


HE  old,  old  year  is  dead : 

Of  all  its  doubts  and  all  its  fears 
Of  all  its  pleasures,  all  its  pains, 
Of  all  its  sorrows,  all  its  tears, 
Naught  but  the  memory  remains. 


We  greet  the  glad  New  Year! 
Its  untried  paths  we  trust  may  lead 
Our  stumbling  feet  in  better  ways, 
And  that  from  out  the  dead  past's  seed 
May  spring  a  harvest  to  God's  praise. 


ULTIMA  THULE. 


HAVE  traversed  the  world  with  the 

scope  of  my  thought ; 
I  have  delved  into  science,   have 

labored,  have  wrought ; 
I  have  gone  the  whole  round  of  creation  to 

find 
The  ultimate  end  for  which  life  was  designed. 

I  stand,  as  it  were,  on  a  cliff  by  the  shore 
Of  an  infinite  ocean  whose  waters,  that  roar 
At  my  feet,  bear  strange  music  from  vistas 

unknown. 
I  am  far  from  my  quest,  I  am  far  from  my 

home. 

Mine  eyes  rest  upon  the  expanse  of  the  waves ; 
Though  my  intellect  finds  not  the  knowledge 

it  craves, 
It  hath  found  its  own  bounds,  its  own  limits, 

and  yields 
To  the  limitless  life  which  the  vision  reveals. 

33 


ULTIMA  THULE 

I  am  humbled  by  what  I  behold,  yet  I  stand 
Erect  as  I  gaze  o'er  the  sea  and  the  land, 
For  I  know  whence  I  came  and  I  know  that 

the  sea 
Hath  only  unspeakable  glories  for  me. 

So  I  wait  and  content,  though  my  quest  was 

denied, 
I  await  the  high  waters  which  come  with  the 

tide, 

And  with  their  recession,  in  faith,  I  believe 
On  their  bosom    my  soul    shall  its  answer 

receive. 


34 


THE  DEATH  OF  MOSES. 

(After  viewing  the  painting  by  J.  J.  Tissot.) 
X 


REAT  Soul !    And  so  thou  labored, 

so  thou  wrought ! 
And  can  it  be  when  thou  wert 

called  to  die 
Such  toil  as  thine,  such  fruitage  could' st  have 

brought, 
Such  pain,  such  heartache  and  such  misery? 

Thou  livedst  the  life  of  greatness  but  thy  woe 
Of  hopes  long  cherished  and  yet  unfulfilled, 

The  sheltered  life  may  never,  never  know, 
Which  hath  not  largely  hoped  and  greatly 
willed. 

35 


THE  DEATH  OF  MOSES 

Ah !  Man  of  men  the  master,  and  the  strong 
Of  heart  and  brain  to  lead  God's  chosen 
band, 

Mute  now  thy  lips  to  speak  against  the  wrong ! 
Prostrate  thy  form  and  empty  now  thy  hand ! 

Thy  face !    Oh  suffering  personified ! 

No  hand  untouched  by  sorrow  could  portray 
Such  features — ('Twas  a  master's  art  which 
tried 

To  trace  thy  great  soul's  awful  agony). 

As  there  thou  liest,  emblem  of  our  race, — 
Greatest  of  those  who  lived  and  wrought 
and  won, 

Abject  despair  is  pictured  on  thy  face, 
Broken  thy  heart  and  all  thy  hopes  undone. 

And  some  say,"  Heed  the  lesson,  mark  it  well, 
Prison  thy  hopes  and  be  content,  nor  try 

For  Canaan's  riches,  still  in  Egypt  dwell, 
Make  humble  bricks  of  clay  and  earth— 
and  die." 


3f> 


THE  DEATH  OF  MOSES 

Nay!    Rather  let  us  press  along  with  thee! 

Aspire  to  heaven,  seeking  lands  unknown, 
And  if  it  mean  great  suffering,  let  it  be ; — 

The  lands  we  seek  may  be  our  children's 
home! 

In  all  the  ages  what  accounts  our  pain, 
Or  what  the  cup  which  to  our  lips  is  pressed 

Outpouring  anguish  may  prove  priceless  gain, 
Be  ours  the  Titan  effort, — God's  the  rest. 


MY  ENEMY. 

* 

enemy.    Who  ?    What  harm 

can  he  do  ? 
How  injure  my  life  if  its  currents 

run  true  ? 
What  matter  who  come  with  the  sound  of  the 

drum 

Demanding  subjection !    I  cannot  succumb. 
No  evil  can  press  me,  divert  me,  distress  me 
When  conscience  uprises  in  honor  to  bless  me. 
No  fiend  can  annoy,  assail  or  destroy 
A  life  which  hath  laid  deep  foundations  for  joy. 

My  enemy  ?    No ;  it  cannot  be  so ; 
I  only,  I  only,  can  bear  myself  woe ; 
Those  forces  which  still  are  permitted  to  kill 
Are  flimsiest  shadows  compared  with  my  will. 
It  is  I,  who  may  say,  be  it  night-time  or  day ; 
It  is  I,  not  another,  directing  my  way; 
It  is  I,  who  must  win,  if  my  battle  be  won ; 
By  no  friend  and  no  kin  can  my  service  be 

done. 

• 

38 


MY  ENEMY 

My  enemy,  then,  is  not  found  among  men, 
But  ah !  most  seductively  speaks  to  me  when 
Desire  bids  me  not  try  for  the  thing  that  is 

high, 

But  eases  my  life  with  some  beautiful  lie, 
Danger's  form  I  espy,  not  far  distant,  but  nigh, 
And  his  right  nomenclature  is  I,  myself,  I ! 


39 


OPULENCE. 


AM  rich- 
All  the  wealth  of  the  ages  I  hold ; 
All  the  wealth  of  all  kingdoms, 
Uncounted,  untold, 

Unconjectured,  is  mine. 

And  thou  thinkest  to  curse 

My  life  by  the  theft  of  the  coin  from  my 
purse  ? 

Is  such  ignorance  thine? 

Witless  Fool !   I  shall  live 
As  I  have  lived,  but  more, 
Though  I  clothe  me  with  rags 
And  do  beg  from  the  door 
Of  my  friends. 

I  am  richer,  poor  beggar,  than  thou 
Who  canst  take  not  the  light  of 
Life's  wealth  from  my  brow, 
But  through  tricks  seek  thy  ends. 

40 


OPULENCE 

I  am  rich ! 

I  have  gathered  life's  wealth  in  my  store ; 
I  hunger  for  goodness,  for  favor  no  more  ; 
I  rejoice  with  today. 
Life's  great  meanings  I  hold 
A  treasure  I  count  me  more  splendid 
Than  th'  gold  which  fools  bury  away. 


41 


THANKSGIVING. 


,— * 

OT  only  for  life's  sunshine  and  its 

flowers, 
Its  ample  store  of  comfort  and  of 

wealth, 

Not  only  for  its  glad  and  cheerful  hours, 
Its  full  supply  of  happiness  and  health, — 
Not  for  these  blessings  only,  would  I  raise 
Father,  to  thee,  my  voice  of  grateful  praise. 

Father,  I  thank  thee  for  life's  storm  and  stress ; 
Father,  I  thank  thee  for  its  bitter  tears 
Whose  only  mission  was  at  last  to  bless 
And  make  me  stronger  for  the  future  years ; 
For  all  life's  seeming  dark  and  crooked  ways 
Which  taught  me  trust  in  thee,  I  give  thee 
praise. 

42 


THANKSGIVING 

Not  for  life's  friends  alone,  though  true  and 

rare, 
The  friends  whose  lives  have  seemed  to  touch 

my  need; 
But  for  those  hours  when  mortal  could  not 

share 
Those  deepest  thoughts  on  which  I    needs 

must  feed, 

Because  thou  taught  me  even  in  those  days 
To  place  my  hand  in  thine,  I  give  thee  praise. 


43 


EVENTIDE. 


glorious  beside  the  sea 
When  lightnings  flash  and  thun 

ders  roar, 
When  tempests  in  their  frenzied 

glee 

In  bold  defiance,  wild  and  free, 
Lash  up  the  waters  on  the  shore. 

'Tis  grand  upon  Niagara's  side 
To  see  the  rushing  torrent  flow, 
And  view  the  awful  foaming  tide 
So  deep,  so  ponderous,  and  so  wide, 
Plunge  to  the  rocky  bed  below. 

At  visions  such  as  these  how  small 
Appear  the  little  thoughts  of  men. 
We  hear  Jehovah's  august  call 
In  rushing  flood  and  waterfall, 
And  when  he  smites  the  main. 

44 


EVENTIDE 

But  in  the  quiet  twilight  hour, 
When  nature  seems  so  hushed  and  still, 
When  hardly  moves  a  leaf  or  flower, 
Ah,  then,  behold  a  greater  power 
Revealed  by  Sovereign  will. 


45 


OUR  BABY. 

x 

HE  was  a  dainty  little  flower,  too 

^ 

fragile  and  too  fair 
To  long  subsist  on  earthly  soil  or 
breathe  our  worldly  air ; 

She  seemed  a  spirit  from  the  skies,  that  she 
might  here  make  plain 

The  beauty  of  self-sacrifice  and  uncomplain 
ing  pain. 

She  was  the  soul  of  gentleness,  her  nature  had 
the  skill 

Of  suffering  in  silent  pain,  suppression  of  her 
will; 

She  voiced  no  cry  of  bitterness  in  all  life's 
bitter  hours ; 

She  came  to  suffer  much  distress  and  perish 
like  the  flowers. 

She  left  us,  she  was  dear  to  us,  but  well  we 
know  her  worth 

Shall  be  remembered  as  God's  gift, — his  per 
fect  gift  to  earth. 

46 


FRIENDS. 


E'RE  friends,  just  friends!    And 
yet  how  vain 

To  seek  to  find  a  lovelier  name! 
In  all  the  history  of  man 
From  savage  life  of  tribal  clan 
To  days  when  wonders  so  unfold 
Naught  seems  so  worthless  as  The  Old, 
One  mighty  living  link  still  chains 
The  past  with  all  that  yet  remains ! 
One  light  still  shines  undimmed  and  lends 
Its  beams  afar, — The  Love  of  Friends. 

We're  friends,  just  friends.      You  think  the 

word 

Quite  old  ?    But  yesterday  'twas  heard 
And  poorly  uttered, — it  is  true 
There  is  no  other  word  so  new. 
We're  friends, — the  world  of  man  is  one, 
The  least  is  not  unworthy,  none 
To  be  the  disregarded.    All 
Together  rise,  together  fall ! 

47 


FRIENDS 


We're  friends,  just  friends  but  goodlier  seems 
That  word  than  in  our  childish  dreams, 
And  years  increasing  will  unfold 
New  meanings  mightier  than  the  old. 


48 


A  CHRISTMAS  GREETING. 


LD  Time  once  more  hath  led  away 

The  seasons  of  the  year, 

And  sleighbells  lightly  chime  again 

For  Christmas-tide  is  here. 

The  happy  old  reunion  days 

With  rare  good- will  have  come, 

And  kindly  gifts  from  loving  hearts 

Unite  us  all  as  one. 

The  spirit  of  the  Nazarene 

Seems  born  to  earth  again ; 

Once  more  we  catch  the  Heavenly  light 

Which  shone  o'er  Bethlehem. 

Not  all  our  friends  of  yesteryear 

Are  spared  to  us  today, 

But  nothing  of  their  worth,  we  know, 

Can  ever  pass  away. 

And  so,  our  dear  remaining  friends, 

We  greet  you  with  good  cheer, 

And  wish  within  our  hearts  for  you 

A  very  glad  New  Year ! 

49 


THE  ENCHANTRESS. 

m 

LISTENED  to  thy  call,  Seductive 

Art, 
Enticing  me  with  music  and  with 

song 

To  quite  forget  the  burdened  human  heart, 
To  quite  forget  life's  sorrow  and  its  wrong, 
To  float  in  dreamy  cadences  away, 
To  live  in  other  realms,  remote,  afar, 
To  well  withdraw  from  earth's  insistent  day, 
To  gather  music  from  some  distant  star ; 
But  in  my  life  great  forces  seemed  combined 
To  make  me  sing  of  sorrow  and  of  death, 
Of  satisfactions  which  the  soul  may  find, 
Born  not  of  vagrant  musings,  in  a  breath, 
But  rather  born  of  travail  and  of  loss, 
Or  valorous  conflict  and  of  irksome  care, 
Of  struggle  under  some  stupendous  cross 
Which  hath  its  fuller  meanings  otherwhere. 

50 


GETHSEMANE. 


,HERE  is  a  way  which  man  hath 

trod 
For  lo !  these  vast,  these  countless 

years, 

It  is  the  way  of  life,  of  God, 
It  is  the  way  of  night,  of  tears, 
Its  windings  we  may  not  foresee, 
It  is  the  way — Gethsemane. 

It  is  the  way  whereby  we  know 
Life's  larger  meanings  and  its  claims, 
The  fellowship  of  human  woe, 
Our  partnership  with  others'  pains. 
It  is  the  way  which  seems  to  be 
Life's  only  way — Gethsemane. 


51 


THE  INITIATED. 


those  who  truly  love,  life's  way  is 
beautiful  and  bright. 
They  find  fresh  glories  with  each 
morn,  new  wonders  in  each  night. 
For  them  a  thousand  living  streams  of  glad 

refreshment  flow ; 

They  shape  a  city  in  their  dreams  which  none 
can  overthrow. 

Each  oush  and  bird,  each  shrub  and  flower, 

seem  clothed  for  them  anew. 
They  find  the  might  of  hidden  power  in  all 

the  deeds  they  do. 
They  joy  alike  in  sun  and  rain,  in  calmness 

and  in  storm, 
For  they  have  known  life's  night  of  pain  and 

found  its  after  morn. 

For  them  the  tables  of  the  gods  with  bounties 

rich  are  spread ; 
They  drink  life's  wine  of  happiness  and  eat 

her  living  bread. 

52 


THE  INITIATED 

They  are  the  great  of  heart  and  will,  whose 

purposes  are  strong; 
The  tasks  unfolding  they  fulfill  which  to  their 

lot  belong. 

They  live,  for  they  are  one  indeed  with  all 
the  great  of  earth. 

The  high,  the  low,  all  having  need,  partake 
alike  their  worth. 

They  are  the  true,  the  faithful  ones,  the  dis 
ciplined  of  mind, 

In  them  alone,  earth's  dying  sons  shall  full 
salvation  find. 


53 


LIMITATION. 


ONCE  beheld  the  ever  restless  sea, 
Goaded  to  fury  by  a  driving  storm, 
Roll  up  its  ponderous  waves  against 

the  shore, 
As  though    its   yawning    depths   would 

swallow  up 

The  land,  engulf  the  mountains,  sweep  across 
The  plains,  and  bury  every  trace  of  earth 
Within  its  deeps. 

Beheld  it  quite  as  well 
In  its  wild  frenzy  sweep  its  rigid  coast, 
As  if  it  had  not  for  ten  thousand  years 
Thus  foamed  and  fretted,  torn  and  dashed  its 

sides, 

In  all  its  awful  anguish  to  be  free. 
I  heard  its  ceaseless  moan  as  through  the  night, 
Wave  after  wave,  which  rolled  along  the  shore, 
The  unfeeling  rocks  broke  and  hurled  back 
Upon  its  heaving  bosom. 

I  have  seen 

Man's  ever  restless  life  thus  deeply  stirred, 
Whipped  by  the  tempests  and  the  winds  of 
time, 

54 


LIMITATION 

Lash  up  its  briny  deeps  against  the  walls- 
Those  adamantine  walls  which  hedge  it  in ; 
Have  seen  its  writhing  billows  surge  and  roll, 
With  agony  of  yearning  and  desire, 
As  though  it  had  not  thus  for  myriad  years 
Tossed,  strained  and  labored,  struggling  to  be 

free. 
Mine  ear  hath  heard  the  moaning  and  the 

wail, 

As  through  the  anxious  watches  of  the  night 
Man's  restless  heart  hath  wrought  alone  in 

tears ; 
And  stretching  yearning  fingers  toward  the 

sky, 

Cried  forth  while  echo,  only,  made  reply — 
"O  Lord,  My  God!" 


55 


LOVE. 


far  as  human  need  exists, 
Or  echoes  call, 

Love,  limitless,  divine,  persists 
About  us  all. 

Its  pulsing  waters  never  tell 
Of  bounding  shore ; 

They  surge  and  roll  and  rise  and  swell 
Forevermore. 


56 


THE  VIKINGS. 


mate !   We  twain 
shall  cut  the  crest, 
ffl*"  And  toss  upon  the  billows  of  new 

seas. 
Our  keel  shall  press  where  never  keel  hath 

pressed, 
Nor  life  beheld  such  wild  discoveries. 

We  forth  upon  uncharted  seas  shall  ride 
In  hopes  of  mightier  knowledge  to  attain. 
We  shall  attempt  life's  dark,  uncertain  tides, 
And  with  our  prows  plow  her  unfurrowed 
main. 

Yea,  mate,  together  we  shall  farther  sail, 
Nor  be  distraught  by  aught  of  furious  storm, 
Our  songs  of  cheer  shall  swell  upon  the  gale 
By  which  to  farther  regions  we  are  borne. 

And  we  shall  live  the  robust  life  and  free, 
The  life  triumphant,  full  of  faith,  and  strong, 
Confiding  in  the  goodness  of  life's  sea, 
Unf earful  of  the  vengeance  of  its  wrong. 

57 


THE  VIKINGS 

Ay !  We  shall  ride  together  far  and  far, 
And  know  each  other's  voices  in  the  night ; 
A  close  companionship  with  every  star 
Which  lights  our  course  and  guides  our  craft 
aright. 

And  if  our  timbers  cannot  stand  the  strain, 
But  smitten  by  the  strong  seas  must  go  down, 
We  shall  have  known  the  glory  of  the  main, 
And  each  the  other's  valor  ere  we  drown. 

Then  on  and  on,  and  let  the  wild  winds  blow, 
Then  on  and  on,  we  are  beyond  recall, 
The  mighty  forces  of  the  deep  we  know 
With  God's  great  heaven  overarching  all. 


58 


THE  PROCESSIONAL. 


N  the  darkness  sat  I  musing,  when 

there  wafted  on  the  breeze 
Faintest  murmurs,  as  of  music,  or  the 

soughing  of  the  trees ; 
Then  they  died  away  in  distance,  softly  soon 

again  to  call 
Like   the   pleasing,   gentle  murmur  of  some 

distant  waterfall; 
Then  they  ceased,  and  with  steady  measure 

did  they  seem  to  rise 
Like  some  human  soul  outcalling  through  the 

darkness  toward  the  skies. 
Weird  it  seemed,  and  yet  the  beauty  more 

than  human  words  can  tell 
Seemed  to  whisper  through  the  night-time, 

"All  is  peaceful;  all  is  well." 
Long  I  waited,  partly  doubting  of  mine  ear 

had  rightly  heard, 
If  it  were  not  something  other  than  the  outer 

sounds  which  stirred; 

Long  I  waited,  long  I  listened  till  the  sweet 
ness  grew  more  clear, 
Human  voices  now  were  blending,  and  were 

falling  on  my  ear. 

59 


THE  PROCESSIONAL 

Music  'twas  divinely  gracious,  yet  it  seemed 

sublimely  grand, 
Slowly    rising,    upward     reaching,     outward 

spreading  o'er  the  land. 
'Twas  a  song  of  marchers  singing;  'twas  a 

mighty  hymn  of  praise, 
Peace,   good-will  on  earth,   and  promise   of 

succeeding  brighter  days. 
Lo!    the  music    nearer    stealing    while    the 

countless  voices  rise, 
It  is  the  song  of  triumph ;   God  is  ruling  from 

his  skies. 
Long  I  listened  from  the  distance  like  a  being 

quite  apart, 
But  the  spirit  of  the  music  now  hath  flooded 

all  my  heart. 
The  voices  now  no  longer  on  the  outer  air  do 

fall, 
They  echo   and  reverberate  throughout  life's 

spacious  hall. 
They  enter  her  assemblage  room,  let  all  the 

people  rise; 
The  God  of  Hosts  is  with  us  now  not  less  than 

in  his  skies. 
The  mighty  God  is  leading  on  his  people  as  to 

war, 


60 


THE  PROCESSIONAL 

The  battle  is  for  righteousness,   his    banner 

floats  before. 
Equality  for  human  rights — let  all  the  people 

sing, 
Let  slavery's  bonds  be  stricken  off  and  love 

enthroned  king. 
Let  woman's  rights  in  government  no  longer 

foes  assail, 
Dispel   the  bonds  of  human  thought  and  let 

the  truth  prevail, 
Strike,  strike  at  every  monstrous  wrong  that 

seeks  a  place  of  power ! 
Death  to  each  beast,   however  strong,   that 

waiteth  to  devour. 
Let  childhood  find  its  rightful  place,  and  man 

his  perfect  part, 
And  Love  and  Joy  and  Peace  and  Hope  be 

regnant  in  each  heart. 
Sing,  sing,  nor  let  the  music  die,  nor  let  the 

song  grow  old, 
The  glory  of  its  loveliness  can  never  quite  be 

told. 
Sing,   sing,    the    night  is  passing.     Lo!    The 

shadows  break  away ; 
Morn    floods    with    light    the    eastern    hills; 

Behold  the  break  of  day ! 


61 


DEVELOPMENT. 

Mf 

,HERE  is  beauty  in  the  lily 
That  lies  nestled  in  the  vale ; 
There  is  beauty  in  the  fresh  new 

fallen  snow, 
But,  there's  grandeur  in  the  sturdy  oak 
That  mocks  the  mighty  gale 
Whose  fury  laid  its  weakest  neighbor  low. 

There  is  sweetness  in  the  innocence 
That  marks  the  little  child, 
That  is  lost  in  quiet  slumbers  on  the  knee, 
But  there's  glory  writ  on  manhood's  brow 
Which  shows  the  struggles  wild 
Through  which  it  wrought  with  passion  to  be 
free. 

The  sweet,  pure  life  and  innocent 
Is  beautiful  and  rare, 
Attractive  and  delightful  to  behold ; 
But  the  lives  attaining  glory 
Which  is  far  beyond  compare, 
Are  the  lives,  which  pain   and   suffering  do 
unfold. 

62 


DEVELOPMENT 

Paths  of  ease  and  paths  of  pleasure 

Lead  not  to  the  mountain  height ; 

Hearts,  which  neither  bleed  nor  suffer,  cannot 

know 

All  the  fullness  of  the  glory, 
All  the  rapture  of  the  sight, 
Of  the  souls  which  struggled  upward  from 

below. 


WOMAN. 

XT 

WOMAN,   moving  at  thy  daily 
tasks 

With  all  thy  patience  which  the 

the  years  inspire, 
Crowning  the  simple  duties  of  the  home 
With  wealth  of  meaning  otherwise  unguessed, 
Asking  for  recompense  no  rich  reward, 
No  grand  immortal  monument  of  fame, 
But  with  the  simple  knowledge  of  a  love, 
Some  pitiable  reflection  of  thine  own, 
Amply  repaid,  rejoiced  and  satisfied : 
In  thee  the   Christ   still  lives  and  moves  the 

world. 

Thy  sacrificial  life  exemplifies 
To  man,  engrossed  in  sordid,  selfish  care, 
That  character  which,  centuries  ago, 
Sprang  from  neglected  eartly  soil,  yet  bore 
An  image  true  of  heaven. 


WOMAN 

'Tis  in  thee, 

Queen  of  our  earthly  life,    He  liveth    still; 
For    well   we   know   that,  from    thy  sweet 

example 

Of  tireless  love,  of  pure  and  strong  devotion, 
We  frame  our  noblest  thoughts  of  life  and 

God, 
And  through  thee  claim  some  kinship  to  the 

skies. 


65 


A  FACE. 

M 

^ AS  a  face  I  shall  never  forget, 

Years  may  do  what  they  will, 
For  though  memory  serve  me 

but  illy 
In  thought  it  will  still 
Be  imprinted ;  yea,  though  life  depart, 

That  strange  face  shall  remain ; 
Its  features  indelibly  etched  on  my  heart, 
And  I  count  it  but  gain. 

'Twas  not  handsome — indeed  it  was  worn ; 

'Twas  a  man's  who  had  wrought 
Out  his  course  through  much  struggle,  yet 
borne 

High  aloft  in  his  thought 
A  great  purpose,  sublime  in  its  scope ; 

All  the  features,  in  fine, 
Seemed  to  mirror   the    soul  with  its  grand 

aspirations  and  hope, 
And  reflect  the  Divine. 

66 


A  FACE 

In  my  folly  I  thought  man  a  beast — 

But  no  more—  in  that  face 
Was  reflected  a  God,  and  today  one,  at  least, 

Has  new  hopes  for  the  race ; 
For  the  meaning  disclosed  by  those  eyes 

Was  ineffable  love. 
'Twas  no  vision  of  earth;  'twas  the  light  of 

the  skies 
Somehow  caught  from  above. 


67 


THE  SOWER. 


SOWER,  in  a  field,  alone, 
Went  forth    to    sow.    In    storm 

and  sun 
He    labored    on    till    day   was 

done,  — 
The  task  he  deemed  his  own. 

Not  his  the  field,  nor  his  the  seed, 
But  his  the  task  the  seed  to  sow. 
Not  his  to  question  or  to  know 
The  harvest  which  might  be  decreed. 

His  but  the  duty.    His  the  toil  — 
The  trusted  toil  on  which  would  wait 
A  harvest  either  small  or  great, 
To  be  determined  by  the  soil. 

He  sowed  —  he  did  not  question  why 
The  signs  and  portents  seemed  not  fair, 
His  single  purpose  was  to  bear 
His  humble  service  ere  he  die. 

68 


THE  SOWER 

His  mission,  though  it  seemed  not  great, 
But  menial,  narrow, — was  full  grand; 
The  seed  he  scattered  from  his  hand 
Might  on  the  needs  of  thousands  wait. 

And  unborn  thousands  might  arise 
In  future  years,  whose  crying  need 
Would  bless  the  sowing  of  that  seed, 
Nor  less  the  sower's  sacrifice. 

But  whether  great  results  or  small, 
Or  waving  harvests  which  might  cheer 
The  Master's  heart  the  coming  year, 
Or  whether  no  results  at  all, 

> 
He  sowed — the  day  was  wearing  late, 

He  hurried  on;  he  would  not  stay; 
The  Voice  which  held  him  on  his  way 
Seemed  the  relentless  voice  of  fate. 

Day  closed, — impending  darkness  warned — 
The  toiler  had  not  left  the  field ; 
The  morning  following  revealed 
The  full  task  faithfully  performed. 

But  who  the  sower,  can  none  tell  ? 

And  whither  did  he  take  his  way? 

He  lived.    He  wrought.    He  filled  his  day 

With  fruitful  toil.    He  passed — 'tis  well ! 


69 


TO  A  FRIEND. 


OU  are  my  friend,  no  other  name 
Conveys    a    meaning    quite    the 
same. 


You  are  my  friend,  no  power  have  I 
To  name  a  dearer,  closer  tie. 

The  choicest  treasure  earth  can  send 
A  mortal  is  a  faithful  friend. 

What  boots  the  rest? — the  gold,  the  power, 
May  vanish  in  an  evil  hour. 

But  friendship  dearer  grows  and  plays 
A  holier  part  with  passing  days. 


70 


EVOLUTION. 


"N    dusty  ways,    through    crowded 

streets, 
By  winding  paths,  o'er  mountains 

high, 

From  varied  scenes,  athwart  great  deeps, 
A  mighty  concourse  surgeth  by. 

Whence  came  they?    Let  the  past  awake 
And  voice  the  secrets  of  its  breast. 

Whence  move  they?    Let  the  future  make 
The  answer,  otherwise  unguessed. 

They  are  the  actors  of  today, 

Inheritors  of  all  the  past, 
Within  whom,  germinating,  play 

Tomorrow's  issues  grave  and  vast. 

They  come  a  mighty,  growing  throng, 
From  primitive  and  simple  ways, 

Blood-stained  by  ignorance  and  wrong, 
To  greet  the  light  of  gladder  days. 


71 


EVOLUTION 

They  seem  arisen  next  the  stone, 

By  fish  or  bird  or  beast  began, 
Till  only  countless  ages  own 

Their  sure  similitude  to  man. 

Forced  on  by  hunger's  fires  they  ran 
O'er  desert  wastes,  through  forests  wild, 

In  bloody  rivers  sank  or  swam, 
Where  mortal  combat  oft  beguiled. 

Their  teachers  were  Necessity, 
Gaunt  Hunger,  and  the  Love  of  Kin, 

The  Elements,  at  war  without, 
And  Passion,  clamorous  within. 

And  thus  they  lived,  and  thus  they  died, 
And  thus  they  wrought,  and  thus  they  grew 

And  thus  they  struggled,  thus  they  tried 
To  read  life's  deeper  meanings  through. 

The  love  of  kin  in  time  began 

To  comprehend  a  larger  whole, 
Till  love  of  every  f ellowman 

Was  preached  by  prophets  of  the  soul. 


72 


EVOLUTION 

And  ignorance's  damning  blight, 
Whose  signet  is  the  skull  and  bone, 

Gave  way  as  wisdom's  holy  light 
Across  her  gulf  of  death  was  thrown. 

The  darkness  hath  abated  and 
The  light  shines  brighter  on  the  way ; 

It  is  alone  mankind  which  stands 
To  cloud  the  fullness  of  her  day. 

Press  on !    The  guerdon  is  not  gained ; 

Press  on !    Still  greater  heights  appear ; 
Press  on !    The  goal  is  not  attained, 

Though  victory  soundeth  near. 


73 


TO  THE  INFINITE. 

m 

IFE  of  God,  unseen,  eternal, 
Coursing   through    the   years   of 

time, 

Freely  flowing,  grand,  supernal, 
All  our  lives  are  fed  of  thine. 

Thine  the  fullness,  never  failing, 
Which  our  starving  natures  need, 
Careworn,  burdened,  faulty,  ailing, — 
Life  of  God,  on  thee  we  feed. 

As  the  rivers  seek  the  ocean, 
Varied  though  their  courses  be, 
So  our  lives  of  wild  commotion, 
Rest  not  till  they  flow  to  thee. 

Ocean  of  Eternal  Blessing, 
Purging  every  earthly  shore, 
Lo !    Our  tossing  lives  are  pressing, 
Toward  thy  fullness  evermore. 

74 


NIGHT. 


OD!    'tis  night! 
No    moon!    Yet   in  the   mighty 

firmament 
The  stars  shine  forth  respondent 
in  the  glory 
Which  no  years  have  dimmed,  nor  passing 

ages  lessened. 

'Tis  indeed  the  wonder  of  a  thinking  mind, 
This  universe  of  worlds,  speaking  to  us  from 

out 

The  spaces,  of  the  power  which  holds  them  in 
Their  courses,   and    calls  them    on  in  their 
respective  ways 

Forever. 

Art  angry  ?    Come  with  me,  and  in 

The  silence  of  the  nighttime  lift  thine  eyes 
Above,  and  in  the  presence  of  ten  thousand 

worlds, 
Midst  which   ours  is  an    infant,  —  cease  thy 

wrath. 

75 


NIGHT 

Art  busy  with  thy  blocks,  or  with  thy  beads  ? 
Have  done  and  stroll  an  hour  beneath  the  sky, 
Recall  man's  ancient  history  and  conceive 
How  recent  is  the  advent  of  our  kind 
Compared  with  all  those  mighty  forces  which 
Do  still  impel  the  planets,  ponder  well — 
Perchance  'twill  rest  thee  from  thy  narrow 

thought, 

Compose  thy  soul  and  give  thee  better  heart 
To  undertake  the  duties  of  the  morrow. 


76 


OMNIA  SUNT  SANCTA. 


all  this  world  I  see  no  common 
thing, 
The  very  clay  which  pushes  from 

the  soil, 

The  tiniest  flower  that  blossoms  in  the  sun 
Is  instinct  all  with  life,  the  miracle. 
Profane,  you  say,  this  world  of  struggling  men? 
There's  nothing  more  profane  than  human 

thought, 

Which  would  decry  creation's  travailings, 
Clothe  with  fine  splendor  unimagined  God, 
Yet  spurn  his  quivering  voice  which  speaks 

to  us 

From  out  the  very  tumult  of  the  street. 
There  is  no  secular,  and  when  the  night 
Of  ignorance  is  wasted  and  the  day 
Of  hallowed  light  appears  shall  men  discern 
In  every  shape  that  crawls  upon  the  earth, 

77 


OMNIA    SUNT   SANCTA 

In  every  creature  buried  in  the  deep, 

In  every  form  that  wingeth  through  the  sky, 

An  element  which  is  of  man  a  part, 

Beneficent,  deep-permeating  all, 

Life,  wondrous  life,  which  is  the  soul  of  God 


78 


THE  REVELATION. 

Sf 

,HE  birds  never  sang  quite  so  gaily, 
The  sunshine  which  peers  through 

my  door 
Bringeth  gladness  and  happiness 

daily 
Where  night  seemed  unbroken  before. 

The  joy,  the  rare  pleasure  of  living, 
These,  these  are  my  portion  today, 

Instead  of  receiving  I'm  giving, 
For  love  hath  encountered  my  way. 

I  rejoice,  I  am  glad, — no  more  fearful 
Of  what  the  great  future  may  send. 

Faith  aspires,  Hope  is  born,  I  am  cheeful, 
For  life  hath  unbosomed  a  friend, 


79 


SUNRISE. 


S  the  daylight  swift  approaching? 

It  is  well ! 

Night  too  long  has  been  encroach 
ing— 
Strange  to  tell ; 

Night  with  all  its  shapes  and  fancies, 
Sombre  scenes  and  spectral  glances, 
Lo !    The  day  of  light  advances, 
Night  was  hell. 

Is  the  sun  of  knowledge  lifting? 

Hail  the  day ! 
Are  life's  somber  shadows  shifting 

Quite  away? 

Let  us  then  be  not  affrighted 
Like  some  craven  souls  benighted, 
But  rejoice  and  be  delighted. 
Well  we  may ! 

80 


A  PENTWATER  SUNSET. 

* 

PICTURE  saidst?    Methinks  not 

long  ago 
One  eve  at  sunset  on  a  mount 

that  lo ! 

As  fair  a  scene  unfolded  as  man's  eyes 
Have  ever  witnessed  in  the  sea  or  skies. 
Calm  'twas ;  far  out  upon  the  waters  lay 
Sailboats  at  rest.    The  breezes  of  the  day 
Gave  place  to  nature's  quiet,  and  the  deep, 
Calm  and  untroubled,  waited  as  in  sleep. 
Beauty !    If  ever  from  a  mountain's  brow 
Mine  eyes  beheld  it,  I  behold  it  now 
As  I  recall  the  memories  of  that  sky 
So  filled  with  marvels  for  my  wondering  eye. 
Such  colors  blended, — crimson,  blue  and  gold, 
Canvas  ne'er  yet  hath  yielded  powers  to  hold : 
Clouds,  Sun- appareled,  yet  did  some  appear 
Dark  and  prophetic  that  a  storm  was  near. 

81 


A  PEXTWATER  SUNSET 

We  watched  it  there  together,  you  and  I, 
Daylight's  departing  glory,  saw  day  die, 
Saw  the  great  orb  which  lighted  up  the  day 
Dip  into  darkest  cloud  and  sink  away. 
A  picture  wouldst  ?    Well,  if  I  should  incline 
To  label  one  so  matchless  and  so  fair, 
I'd  call  it  God's  most  perfect,  most  divine. 
And  bow  my  head  and  bathe   my  soul  in 
prayer. 


WALT  WHITMAN. 


AR  from  the  dry  and  dusty  way, 
The  beaten  track,  the  noisy  street, 
The    towering    walls,    I    stroll 

today 

To  where  life's  ocean  currents  sweep 
And  ebb  and  flow  in  tireless  play. 

I  gaze  as  far  as  eye  can  see, 
I  hail  the  freedom,  greet  the  wild, 

Impassioned  voices  borne  to  me ; 
I  find  that  I  am  nature's  child 

And  have  her  spirit,  wild  and  free. 

Forgotten  is  the  narrow  street, 
The  beaten  path,  the  dusty  way, 

Tired  faces  I  was  wont  to  meet ; 
Behold !     It  is  life's  holiday, 

Great  waves  are  dashing  at  my  feet. 

83 


WALT  WHITMAN 

Forgotten  ?    Nay,  beheld  more  true 
By  means  of  such  perspective  vast, 

The  lens  my  vision  peereth  through, 
New  light  upon  life's  ways  hath  cast 

Revealing  glories  fresh  and  new. 

Gone  are  the  cares  which  fret  the  mind, 
The  griefs  which  prey  upon  the  heart, 

Life's  burdens,  lo !    today  I  find 
The  joys  which  freely  life  imparts 

To  those  with  simple  faith  resigned. 

Back  move  I  to  the  world  of  men 
With  braver  step  and  firmer  tread ; 

The  soul  hath  found  its  own  again, 
The  sordid,  selfish  life  is  dead, 

A  breeze  seems  wafting  from  God's  glen. 


84 


NECESSITY. 


ECESSITY,  how  I   did  hate  thy 

power, 
Which  bound  me  willy-nilly  to 

my  woe ; 
Robbed  my  fair  hopes ;  razed  my 
secluded  bower; 
Bade  me  life's  stress  and  struggle  undergo. 

How  I  rebelled,  entreated,  agonized, 
Sought  to  withdraw  and  take  the  fairer  way ; 

But  thou  didst  bind  me  as  a  captive  prized, 
Turned  a  deaf  ear  when  I  besought  to  stay. 

I  stumbled  in  my  weakness,  cried  aloud : 
"  Hold  thou !   My  cup  of  bitterness  put  by, 

Let  me  withdraw  from  out  the  tiresome  crowd 
Wherein  I  falter,  weary,  sick  to  die." 

86 


NECESSITY 

Stern  teacher,  all  remorseless,  thou  dost  still 
Allot  thy  babes  hard  lessons  in  thy  school ; 

Bind  heavy  burdens,  circumvent  man's  will ; 
Shape  every  life  by  thy  mysterious  rule. 

And  yet,  and  yet,  may  it  not  be  thy  hand 
Which,  pressing  hard  upon  us,  makes  to  flow 

Life  fuller,  richer,  for  a  needy  land, 
Joy,  deathless  joy,  where  otherwise  were 
woe? 

Strange,  strange  thy  power,  may  it  not  be,  who 

knows, 
But  we,   unthinking,  have  misguessed  thy 

name? 
Perchance  life's  King  thou  art,  which  by  our 

throes 
His  fuller,  gracious  coming  doth  proclaim. 

Then  forward  lead ;  I  falter  now  no  more ; 

I  see  beyond  the  present's  little  day 
The  far-off  reaches  of  a  golden  shore, 

Toward  which  mankind   through   struggle 
takes  his  way. 


80 


ENTANGLED. 


N  truth  I  knew  her — knew  her  when 

a  child, 
She  seemed   so   bright,   so   happy, 

yet  so  wild, 
So  natural,  yet  so  free. 
Free  as  a  bird  which,  in  the  open  air, 
Carols  its  songs  without  apparent  care 
For  what  is  yet  to  be. 

Knew  her  in  after  years,  as  graceful,  gay, 
And  with  abounding  life  she  led  the  way 

In  dance  and  game  and  song. 
I  knew  the  cunning,  the  designing  art, 
Which  led  her  footsteps  on  their  first  false  start 

In  slippery  ways  of  wrong. 

87 


ENTANGLED 

I  met  her  since — O,  calumny  of  fate ! 
Baffled  and  buffeted  by  scorn  and  hate, 

The  wreckage  of  the  past. 
Thrown  on  the  shoals  where  life's  remorseless 

waves, 
Ghoul-like  cast  up  the  dying  from  their  graves 

Nor  let  death  hold  them  fast. 

I  am  a  man  in  years — have  met  the  shocks 
Of  all  life's  varied  fortune  and  its  knocks, 

But  when  are  piled 

Upon  my  thought  the  memories  of  that  face — 
Despairing  agony,  remorse,  disgrace — 

Oh  God !     I  am  a  child. 

Say  you  she  was  accursed?    Nay,  I  trow, 
Those  burning  eyes  of  hers  which  haunt  me 
now 

Refute  the  lie. 

There  is  a  gracious  harbor  known  somewhere 
To  claim  such  souls  whose  misery  is  their 
prayer, 

And  only  hope  to  die. 


88 


WITH  THY  HAND  IN   MY  OWN. 


<HEN  in  thought  from  the  world 

Of  dire  conflict  I'm  free, 
And  those  visions  of  rapture 

Most  lovely  I  see, 
Then  my  mind  paints  a  picture, 

My  dear  one,  of  thee 
With  thy  hand  in  my  own. 

With  thy  hand  in  my  own 

Would  I  find  my  release 
From  the  doubts  I  have  known; 

All  forebodings  would  cease 
And  my  soul  would  have  entered 

God's  heaven  of  peace 
With  thy  hand  in  my  own. 


89 


UNSEEN  FORCES. 


E  deal  with  forces  vast,   com 
pletely  hidden, 
Which  mortals  may  not  see ; 
But  which  by  every  throe  of  life 

seem  bidden 
To  change  our  destiny. 


There  is  a  power,  no  matter  how  we  term  it, 

Surrounding  all  our  lives ; 
A  matchless  power,  though  we  may  not  dis 
cern  it, 

Which  human  cause  defies. 

We  play  with  things  so  idly,  seldom  choosing 

Their  real  intrinsic  worth, 
As  little  children  by  their  folly  losing 

The  priceless  things  of  earth. 

90 


UNSEEN  FORCES 

We  have  been  blinded  by  a  thousand  ages 

Of  ignorance  and  greed, 
Like  the  untutored  groping  toward  those  stages 

Whence  they  may  wisely  read. 

Life's  countless  voices  speak  unnumbered  les 
sons, 

Most  beautiful  and  grand, 
Which  with  maturer  wisdom,  keener  insight, 

We  yet  shall  understand 


<n 


THE  KNIGHTED. 


EW  lead  wherever  man  must  go, 
A  few — the  Great,  the  Strong, 

the  Brave, 
Must  dare   the  storm   and  dare 

the  wave 
And  dare  the  deeps  they  may  not  know. 

And  dare  to  trust  the  Truth  which  calls 
When  Error  standeth  bold  without 

With  brazen  shield  and  sword  of  doubt 
And  hurls  defiance  from  her  walls. 

And  dare  to  lead  when  craven,  weak 
And  cowardly  spirits  shrink  with  fear, 

And  dare  to  sing  the  song  of  cheer, 
And  dare  their  honest  thoughts  to  speak. 

Twas  ever  thus  since  life  began, 
But  few  first  comprehend  the  right, 

The  torch  of  few  must  shed  the  light 
To  guide  the  onward  march  of  man. 

92 


THE  EMANCIPATED. 


<HAT  do  we  care  for  the  foolish 

opinions 
Of    those    who    but    infantile 

knowledge  have  known  ? 
We,  we,  who   have   traversed    life's    larger 

dominions, 

And  builded  in  thoughts   more  eternal  our 
home. 

What  do  we  care  for  their  judgments,  their 
c  hidings, 

We,  who  have  lived  with  the  masters  of  old  ? 
What  do  we  care  for  their  scornful  deridings, 

We,  who  have  gathered  life's  fullness  untold? 

What  do  we  care,  we,  familiar  with  sorrow, 
What  do  we  care,  we,  companions  of  pain  ? 

Shall  craven  fear  of  an  unborn  tomorrow 
Fetter  our  spirits  or  torture  our  brain  ? 

93 


THE  EMANCIPATED 

Forward!     Exultantly!     We   shall    march 
steadily, 

Fearlessly,  earnestly,  bravely  and  well ; 
Hopeful,  believingly,  honestly,  readily 

Taking  what  comes  to  us — Heaven  or  Hell. 

We  are  not  mocking  ones,  jesting  and  simper 
ing, 

We  are  not  scornful  ones,  seekers  for  wrong, 
We  are  not  hapless  ones,  whining  and  whim 
pering, 
We  are  life's  earnest  ones,  eager  and  strong. 

Who  shall  confound  us  and  who  shall  abase  us? 

Who  shall  deter  us  as  forthward  we  fare? 
Man  cannot  conquer  us,  devils  may  face  us, 

But  devils  shall  quail  before  mortals  which 
dare. 


94 


DEATH  AND  LIFE. 


HEY    die,  who  live  regardless  of 

their  brothers ; 
Oblivion  is  sure. 
But   lives    which    interpenetrate 

each  other's 
Forever  shall  endure. 


Like  eagles,  swift  and  mighty  are  their  pinions 

O'er  unsealed  heights  to  soar; 
They  sweep  above  earth- fettered,  dark  domin 
ions 

In  light  forever  more. 


95 


WHY  WE  BELIEVE  IN  EQUAL 
SUFFRAGE: 


ECAUSE  we  believe  in  human  rights, 

Not  chiefly  for  the  strong ; 
But  rights  as  well  for  those  oppressed 
Who  greatly  suffer  wrong. 

Because  we  believe  in  brotherhood 

And  all  that  term  implies ; 
Because  we  hate  injustice 

And  oppression  much  despise. 

Because  the  time  is  ripe  for  truth 

And  ripe  for  worthy  deeds ; 
Because  of  man's  necessities 

And  woman's  urgent  needs. 

Because  of  childhood  yet  unborn 
And  rights  which  should  be  theirs ; 

Because  'tis  time  for  action  now 
And  past  the  time  for  prayers. 

96 


WHY  WE  BELIEVE  IN  EQUAL  SUFFRAGE 

Because  we  count  it  now  the  time 
When  human  strife  should  cease ; 

Because  we  believe  it  means  a  stride 
Toward  universal  peace. 


97 


THE  GAMBLER. 

E    played  for   higher    stakes  than 

worldly  gain; 
He  played  for  other  prizes  than 

success, 
He    played  a    princely   hand 

through  poignant  pain — 
Pain  unremitting — pain  without  redress. 

He  early  played  for  what  he  hoped  to  win — 
A   love   for   which   he   vainly  dreamed  and 

sighed ; 
But  now  he   played   while    Hell-fire    raged 

within— 
For  but  one  drop  of  mercy  from  his  bride. 

He  played  his  fortune — that  was  quickly  lost ; 

He  played  his  reputation  and  his  skill ; 

He  still  played  on,  though   noting  now  the 

cost— 
A  worthy  manhood  and  an  honest  will 

98 


THE  GAMBLER 

God  pity  him — the  gambler  in  life's  game, 
Who  lost  while  playing  for  the  best  he  knew. 
The  game  goes  on — how  many  lose  the  same ! 
The  winners   of  life's   stakes,  how  strangely 
few! 


99 


THE  CONFLICT. 


ALT?    Falter?    Never! 
Midst  battle  smoke  and  roar  and 

tongue  of  fire, 
Onward,  forever! 
On !    On !    Against  the  foe ! 

On !   Counting  naught  the  woe ! 
On !    By  God's  grace  we'll  go 
With  fresh  endeavor. 


Tire?    Weary?    Rest  us? 
Nay,  while  strength  lasts,  up !    Forth,  and 

ever  dare, 
Let  men  detest  us ! 
Strike  like  a  warrior  bold ! 
Grasp  nor  relax  thy  hold ! 
Smite  ere  the  day  grow  old 
And  night  arrest  us ! 


100 


Quick,  strong  and  daring ! 
Out  from  the  halting  and  the  idle  throng 
Waiting,  not  caring, 
Fly  like  an  iron  ball 
Hurled  at  the  fortress  wall ! 
Hear  ye  the  cannon's  call  ? 
Fight  ye,  naught  sparing ! 

Rageth  the  battle ! 

Into  those  jaws  which  like  Hell  seem  to  gape 
Plunge  like  mad  cattle ! 
Ha!  Laugh!  A  thousand  die ! 
Ha !  Laugh !  The  end  is  nigh. 
Joy,  if  thy  victor's  cry 
Drown  our  death  rattle! 


101 


OLD  AGE. 

m 

ITH  joy  I  wait  the  waning  year, 
Nor    doubt    the    good   'twill 

bring, 

For  Autumn  hath  filled  granaries 
If  not  the  flowers  of  Spring. 

And  richer  treasures,  which  abide, 

Within  her  lap  are  laid, 
Than  all  the  wealth  of  lovliness 

Which  Springtime's  art  displayed. 

I  glory  in  the  reddening  leaf 

And  in  the  fading  flower, 
For  life  within  the  garnered  sheaf 

Is  multiplied  with  power. 

And  though  the  storms  of  winter  break 

Across  a  darkened  sky, 
I  know  a  larger  life  doth  wait, 

Which  was  not  born  to  die. 


102 


WHEN  THE  NIGHT  CLOSES  IN. 


HEN  the  night  closes  in,  let  no 

mourners  appear, 
Let  no  tears  be  outpoured,  let  no 

weepers  be  near, 
Let  no  words  of  lament  be  pro 
nounced  o'er  my  bier 
When  the  night  closes  in. 

When  the  night  closes  in,  let  some  glad  song  of 

morn, 
As  a  song  of  great  hope  or  of  triumph  be 

borne, 

Like  the  song  of  a  bird  coming  after  the 
storm, 

When  the  night  closes  in. 

103 


WHEN  THE  NIGHT  CLOSES  IN 

When  the  night  closes  in,  let  me  have  one 

friend  nigh, 
Whom  I  loved  while  I  lived,  to  attend  as  I 

die; 

And    a    glimpse    of    God's    glorious    star- 
studded  sky, — 

When  the  night  closes  in. 

When  the  night  closes  in,  let  the  word  then  be 

said 

That  nothing  of  value  departs  with  the  dead, 
But  life  more  abundant  is  born  in  its  stead, 
When  the  night  closes  in. 


104 


DATE  DUE 


GAYLORD 


PRINTED  IN  U.S. 


A     000664147     6 


